Obsession
by AmazingLadar
Summary: When women are found dead on the coast of San Diego after a week of being kidnapped, the BAU are called in to help. With little evidence, and a weak connection between the victims, the team struggle to find the UNSUB before he kidnaps another woman. Set in season 5, no pairings, rated T for safety.
1. Emilia Banks

**Hello lovelys!**

**This is my first Criminal Minds fic, I just started watching it a couple months ago after my favourite show ended. I am now hooked.**

**I apologise in advance for the very short first chapter. The next chapter is already written and will be posted tomorrow. I just felt this chapter and the next chapter should be separated.**

**Set in season 5, closer to the end of the season, because I like Prentiss and I don't want to deal with Doyle or the aftermath of him.**

**Please review!**

* * *

><p><span>San Diego, California<span>

Emilia Banks didn't know how long she'd been in the basement. There was only one window within the entire room, small and high up, letting in very little sunlight. Some days it would be enough to light up the room. Most times, it would only serve as an indication of another day passed. From the window, she assumed she was down there for eight days, but she wasn't sure. She didn't have regular meals, regular visits or regular sleeping times. She was so exhausted she spent most of her time asleep in her chair, comfort long since being forgotten. Her wrists were tied down onto the arms of the chair, her ankles tied to the legs, and a gag tied too tightly to keep her quiet. She gave up screaming long ago.

The door to the basement at the top of the stairs opened and Emilia couldn't help the small whimper that came out. The man that she had seen so often the past week slowly and loudly descended the stairs, a sad smile on his face. He grabbed a chair from the foot of the stairs and dragged it behind him as he approached the young woman. He place the chair in front of her and sat down.

"I figured you out, Emilia," he said calmly. The woman's breathing quickened, not sure what that meant for her. "I thought you were different. I thought you could keep me distracted, but I was wrong."

The man untied her right wrist gently. Emilia lifted her free hand, and without even thinking about it, moved to smack the man in the face. The man's hand shot up and grabbed Emilia before she could make contact with his face. The man smiled sadly again and looked at her, a genuine apology in his eyes.

"You see?" he asked. "I knew you would do that. I've figured you out now, and you're useless to me." Emilia yanked her hand free, but before she could move it, the man spoke, "Please don't start scratching your chest. That can't be good for you, and it really is an unattractive nervous tick."

Emilia's eyes widened. She knew of her nervous tick for years, but how did he? Her hands were tied the entire time she was there.

"Like I said, I figured you out," the man said. "Your anxiety was the thing that drew me to you in the first place." The question she had was so clear in her eyes she may as well have spoken it out loud. How did he know about her anxiety? "You're very easy to set off, and when I see you working on your computer at the café, you never spend more than five minutes actually typing. Most of the time you just stare off, with that sad look in your eye. Every conversation I've ever heard you have was filled with negativity. At first I thought you were just a pessimist with a short fuse and the attention span of a three year old, but then I saw the scratches and everything fit into place."

Emilia continued to stare in shock. This man didn't just kidnap her, he had stalked her. No, stalked wasn't the right word. He had _studied_ her. Day in and day out, he stayed in his corner at the café and he studied her as if she was some kind of animal. But the only true animal that she could see from her side of things was the man sitting across from her. He still had the courage to give her that smile, as if he was so very sorry and grateful for her. He made her sick.

"You really have been entertaining for me this past week, and even though I've now grown tired of your company, I wish to reward you for that," he said. He grabbed her wrist again, flipping it so her palm was facing up. "I'm going to make this as quick and painless as I can." He reached behind his back and pulled out a syringe. Emilia's struggles were useless as he inserted the needle into her arm. She screamed in protest, but that didn't stop the man from pushing the liquid into her body. Her screaming and struggling began to die down, and suddenly, the young woman really wanted to sleep.

Emilia stared at the man in front of her. His stupid apologetic smile was still on his face. He thought he was doing her a favour with this injection, that somehow this quick death made things better. Emilia wanted to scream at him, swear at him, and, for the first time in her life, she actually wanted to hurt the man in front of her. She was never a violent person, but right here, right now, she wanted to hurt him. Even if she wasn't restrained, though, she was far too weak to fight.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and for the last time, she closed her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>All extremes of feelings are allied with madness.<em>

_– Virginia Wolf_


	2. Wheels Up

**Hello lovelys!**

**I do apologise, I meant to update this yesterday, but I didn't have access to a computer until now. Chapters should be a bit longer from now on. I'll try to update weekly.**

**Please review!**

* * *

><p><span>Quantico, Virginia<span>

Spencer Reid woke up at seven o'clock sharp. Despite how tired he was from the last case he worked, the young genius forced himself out of bed. He figured his day would mostly consist of paperwork, but after the week he just had, he was surprisingly okay with that. After hobbling into the bathroom and checking on his recently healed leg wound, Reid started to get ready. Half an hour later, at the young genius was out of his door and headed to work.

He was one of the first people to arrive at the office, just after agent Hotchner, which wasn't unusual. He went to his desk and pulled out his files, quickly trying to get a head start on his work before Morgan or Prentiss arrived. The two of them often slipped their own files into Reid's pile, and while the Reid didn't necessarily mind doing the work, getting a quick lead wouldn't hurt. JJ was next to arrive. She smiled and nodded her head in greeting to Reid before going into her own office and getting to work. The others came in one by one, more or less at the same time. They mumbled a greeting before moving to their desks and starting on their paperwork.

When Reid had completed a quarter of his work, he decided to get coffee, offering to get one for the other agents. Balancing three cups in his hands, he made his way back to his desk, handing Prentiss and Morgan their cups, and when he got back to his desk, he wasn't even surprised to see that his stack had somehow grown. He stared at the two culprits before sighing and sitting back down in his seat.

"Coffee is on you to for the next two cases," Reid muttered and started working on the files.

Prentiss looked up, a grateful smile on her face. "Thanks, Reid," she said.

At around noon, Morgan stretched out and stood up, needing a break from all the paperwork. He had been working for almost four hours straight, and even after handing off some of his files to Reid, he still hadn't made a considerable dent in his work. Morgan walked over to Reid's desk, attracting the attention of Prentiss as well.

"I'm going to go for lunch," he announced. "You coming with, Pretty Boy? Lunch is on me."

"I don't know," Reid hesitated. "We've got a lot of work to do…"

"I'll take the free lunch," Prentiss announced.

"Then do some of my files for me," Morgan replied with a smile on his face. Prentiss rolled her eyes but started gather up her things to join for lunch. "Come on, Reid," Morgan continued. "You can't stay cooped up in here all day."

Reid hesitated a moment longer before putting his pen down. "Fine," he said at last. "You're paying – "

"Sorry guys, lunch is cancelled," JJ announced after finally emerging from her office. "We got a case."

"Already?" Prentiss asked. "We just came back from New York…"

"Yeah, why can't criminals just take a vacation," Morgan joked, already giving up on his lunch plans.

"Looks like I'm getting a free coffee today instead," Reid muttered and made his way to the briefing room.

They all let out a collective sigh before following JJ into the briefing room. Hotch, Rossi and Garcia were already waiting inside for the others to join. There projection screen was already up, along with several files on the table. Each member of the team sat down around the table and started to open the files.

"Morning, my doves," Garcia greeted, grabbing the remote for the projector. "Next case for you guys will take you to sunny California. Three women have been found dead on the coast, all have the same MO. They were each reported missing and then seven days later, they washed up on shore. Tox screens show each of them overdosed on barbiturates, more specifically, Butalpital."

"Barbituates are very hard to get a hold of these days," Reid pointed out. "They're not used recreationally very often and are very rarely prescribed due to the high risk of overdosing and even higher risk of addiction. In fact, nowadays, even if barbiturates _are_ prescribed, they're very strictly controlled and monitored by the doctor who prescribes it. Whoever is giving the woman these drugs must have access to them. Maybe a, uh, doctor or pharmacist."

"We'll get the local police to check inventory at hospitals and pharmacies," Hotch concluded. "Maybe the barbiturates are being taken without them even realising it."

"No chance they're suicides?" Morgan asked, earning several glances. "Just saying, I noticed in their files, each one of them suffered from some form of anxiety disorder."

"While people with anxiety disorders are generally more likely to have suicidal thoughts, one doesn't necessarily mean the other," Reid explained. "

"What boy wonder said," Garcia agreed. "Plus, each woman shows signs of captivity. Mild rope burns on the wrists, malnourishment, and two of them even showed some signs of dehydration."

"But the mere fact that they didn't die of starvation or dehydration shows that their captive was caring for them," Rossi noted.

"The barbiturates could have been a mercy killing," Prentiss agreed. "Quick and painless death."

"That's not all," JJ continued, gesturing for Garcia to show the image on the screen. The image of the three women as they were found on the shore was projected on the screen. They were each fully dressed, laying on their backs with their eyes closed and arms crossed on their stomach. "The way the UnSub got rid of the body is almost gentle."

"Could be a sign of remorse," Hotch said.

"It gets weirder," Garcia said. "Autopsy shows no signs of sexual assault."

"So these kidnappings and murders aren't sexually-motivated," Prentiss concluded.

"Okay so, the UnSub kidnaps the victim, ties them to a chair and then keeps them for a week, feeding and hydrating them until – what? – he gets bored and kills them?" Morgan asked.

"Looks that way," Garcia agreed. She pushed a button on the remote showing the next image. It was a picture of a young African-American woman, smiling at the camera. "This is Amanda Rich, aged twenty eight, the UnSub's first victim. She was reported missing four weeks ago by her boss when she didn't show up to an important court case. She was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when she was fifteen, that being her anxiety disorder. She was found dead a week later on the coast."

Garcia changed the image again showing a Caucasian woman with blonde hair smiling at the camera. "Two days after Amanda Rich was found, Kaitlin Smith, aged thirty three, was reported missing by her husband when she didn't show up to pick up her son at nursery school," Garcia explained. "She was a housewife, spending most of her time taking care of her three year old son. She was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following the miscarriage of her second pregnancy. She was found washed up on the shore six days later, same way Amanda Rich was found."

The image changed again, this time showing a young olive skinned woman with black curly hair smiling at the camera. "Following the same pattern, four days later, Emilia Banks was reported missing when her friends noticed she had missed two days' worth of lectures at University of California. Emilia, twenty one, was an international student from Italy attending university on a full scholarship. Her friends thought it was weird that she would jeopardise that. Emilia was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder by her university's psychologist after her second year attending university. She was found dead yesterday afternoon."

"So assuming the UnSub follows his trend, we can expect another victim to be taken soon," Hotch concluded.

"Precisely," Garcia confirmed. "And as you can see, there doesn't seem to be much linking the three women. Different jobs, age range, ethnicity… the only thing they have in common is their anxiety, and even that is a vague connection."

"Well, at least it narrows down the potential victim list, right?" Morgan asked. "I mean, how many people actually have anxiety disorders?"

"Anxiety disorders are actually the most common mental illness. Over forty million adults in the US are affected, making up 18% of the population. Statistically speaking, it would actually be easier to narrow down the potential victims if we were told the only thing they had in common were blue eyes."

"Great," Morgan sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"But why _is_ the UnSub targeting people with anxiety?" Prentiss asked.

"They could see it as some sort of weakness," Rossi suggested.

"Maybe not," Reid countered. "I mean, the UnSub kept his victim for a whole weak, caring for them. There are no signs of torture, no signs of assault, physical or sexual. They're even gentle when it comes to killing the victim. They don't appear to hold any anger or disgust for their victim, just interest."

"But then after a week, they get bored," Morgan continued. He looked thoughtful for a second. "Maybe these women are a surrogate for someone else," he continued. "Maybe these women remind him of someone that he wants, but can't have. He kidnaps them in an effort to distract themselves."

"But after a week, they realise it's not enough," Prentiss jumped in.

"In that case, it won't be long before the UnSub goes after his original interest," Rossi commented.

"It's too soon to know for sure," Hotch said. "Either way, someone is in danger." He looked around the room sternly. "Wheels up in twenty minutes."


	3. Burial at Sea

**Hello lovelys! **

**So much for updating every week… I'm finding myself with many ideas for this fic, and a lot of time to put it down on word. Hence result!**

**Please review!**

* * *

><p><span>San Diego, California<span>

After only a couple of hours, the BAU team had arrived in San Diego. While on the plane, they talked more about the case and what each of them should do next.

In terms of profiling the UnSub, they didn't have much to go on. After discussing it more, they decided that the almost gentle treatment the victims received as well as the merciful death suggests that they weren't dealing with a mission oriented UnSub. Their guy doesn't feel a need to get rid of a weakness – in this case anxiety. They all agreed that the victims seemed to be surrogates for his real target. They also agreed that due to the high variability in victim, it's most likely that the traits of the victims are becoming more and more similar to his first target. Meaning, of course, that soon, his original target would be taken. It wouldn't be long now.

They entered the police department of San Diego at seven o'clock, too late to talk to the friends and family of the victims, but too soon to finish off the day. So, they went to the station, ready to go over all the details with the detectives and officers that were already on the case, get insight from people who had already been working on it.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the chief of police, an old, greying man who appeared to keep in shape, accompanied by two men. Both men were well built, and clearly had experience in the field, both probably in their mid-thirties. JJ approached the three first, an arm outstretched. Chief Adam Vick took her hand.

"Hello, I'm Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone?" she introduced.

"Yes, of course," he greeted. The other agents of the BAU approached, and JJ introduced them.

"Guys, this is Chief Adam Vick," JJ finished the introduction.

Each agent shook hands with the Chief, with the exception of Reid, who offered a timid wave from the back of the crowd.

"Thanks for coming down," the chief said genuinely, before gesturing to the men by his side. "This is Head Detective Daniel Pascale, and his partner Jared Pascale. They've been working the Coast Murders."

"So, you guys are…" Morgan started, not wanting to make assumptions just yet.

"Brothers," they both answered simultaneously.

"If there's anything we could do for your team, please don't hesitate to ask," the chief said, continuing on the important case.

"Thank you," Hotchner started. "It may be a little too late notice to set up interviews with the families of the victims tonight, but that will need to be set up for tomorrow. For now, a room for us to work in would be good. And we would like to go over some case details with your team."

"Sure, I'll organise the interviews now," Jared said, heading back into the precinct.

"And a room is already set up for you," Daniel said. "I'll show you there, and we can discuss the case."

The BAU team nodded and followed Daniel in. He showed them to their own office space which had a long table in the middle and two white boards. Pictures from the crime scenes were put up already, and files were on the table ready for them. As they got settled into their seats, Jared joined up with them again, confirming that they had set up interviews for the next day.

"There isn't much to work with at the moment," Hotch explained. "There isn't much of a connection between the victims, but talking to the families tomorrow will give us more answers."

"Right now, we think we're dealing with an organised, non-social serial killer," Rossi said. "He's most likely a white man in his late twenties, early thirties."

"He has above average intelligence, but doesn't have a very high respecting job," Morgan continued. "We believe he has a job which allows him have access to prescription drugs."

"Wait, sorry," Jared interrupted. "You got all that from a couple files we sent you mere _hours_ ago?"

"You're sceptical," Hotch said, rather than asking. They dealt with sceptics all the time, they were used to this.

"Well… I _wasn't_…" Jared said. "But, come on, how can you get that many specifics on a single person with so little information?"

"I apologise for my detective," the chief swooped in, "Please continue."

The agents took a moment's pause to gather themselves again.

"We don't think this UnSub is a mission based killer," Reid finally continued. "The gentleness he shows his victims suggest that he feels no anger or disgust with him, rather, he gets bored."

"We believe these victims are surrogates for a woman that he wants but can't have," Prentiss added on. "It's possible that he loves this woman and that he feels genuinely afraid that he'll hurt her. So, he targets the victims in an attempt to distract himself."

"What, so he kills these girls because they lose his interest?" Jared asked.

"We believe so, yes," Morgan confirmed.

"Sick bastard," Jared muttered under his breath.

"Is there a chance he _wants_ the police to get on his trail? Maybe even get close to catching him?" Daniel asked.

"Why do you ask that?" Rossi asked.

"Well, it's just looking at the victims. I mean, you guys always say the victims are key to understanding the killer, right? Well, all victims are low risk victims with people who would notice them missing. He keeps them for a week before killing them. That gives us plenty of time to catch him, doesn't it? And also the way he gets rid of the body. Don't most organised killers try to hide the body? He just lays it out for people to see. It's almost like he actually _wants_ people to stumble across his bodies."

"You said he wanted a distraction," Jared agreed. "Surely being chased by the police would provide the ultimate distraction."

"Wow, you couldn't be more wrong," a new voice entered the office. Everyone turned to the entrance to find a young, tanned young woman with brown hair standing in the doorway. She looked like she could still be studying in university. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just at Daniel's desk and he left some files open – you should really sort that out, by the way – and you're wrong about the disposal of the body."

"Leia!" Daniel protested

The woman ignored him and continued. "Look at the way the body is left. The hands crossed over the stomach, the eyes closed, and the women nicely dressed… the disposal of the body isn't a way to get your attention, it's a burial. It's not for him or the cops, it's for the victim." The others turned to the pictures of the victim's bodies and started to see where she was coming from.

"Burials at sea aren't a necessarily ethnic or religious act. Some religions will hold ceremonies for it, but it's not exactly common practice," Reid started spouting. "If it is a burial at sea, it's most likely a reference to a Navy burial. It's a sign of the highest respect."

"I'll do you one better," the woman said, a smile on her face. "If you look at some literary works, burial at sea is not only a sign of respect, but it's a glorification, a thank you, an apology. Take _Lord of the Flies_, for example. Simon's burial at sea is an allusion for a sacrifice and it's seen as very peaceful, almost mythical."

"Which is how the UnSub feels for his victims," Reid concluded. "He's sacrificed them for the sake of his original target. The burial is a sign of respect and remorse."

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Hotch finally asked.

The woman stared at Hotchner in shock as she quickly realised where she was and who she was dealing with. "Oh, right, I'm so sorry. Um, I'm Leia. Leia Pascale."

"Pascale?" Prentiss asked. "As in…" she gestured towards the two detectives.

"Yeah, she's our sister," Daniel said. "Who was _supposed_ to wait at reception."

"Sorry," she apologised again. "I – "

"Leia, we've talked about this," Chief Vick said sternly. "Your daddy and brothers are good cops, but you aren't part of the department. You have to stop sneaking confidential files."

"Yeah, I know, sorry Chief," she said quickly. "Last time, I promise!" and before anyone could utter another word, Leia ran out of the room.

"I apologise for our sister," Jared said quickly. "She grew up with cops, it's kind of hard for her not to insert herself in case, especially when she believes we're in trouble. It's her way of showing she's worried."

"How long ago did your mother died?" Rossi asked, causing the detectives and the chief to stare wide eyed and jaws on the floor.

"How in the hell – " Jared started.

"The way you behave with your sister is strict and stern, which could be due to the large age difference, but add to that the way your younger sister worries about you when you work suggests compensating for the loss of a parental figure," Rossi explained as if it were obvious. "Chief Vick spoke of your father in the present tense, which only leaves your mother."

"Almost twenty years ago," Daniel answered, recovering quickly. He knew he had called the BAU in for a reason. He had always admired their profiling and had always secretly wanted to join. "Jared and I were in college when we heard, but Leia wasn't even ten at the time."

"Okay," Jared said, looking away from the BAU team, feeling uncomfortable talking about his mother and the fact that they could figure this out about him after a minute of observing. "I'm no longer a sceptic."

"What about the original chick?" Daniel asked quickly, trying to divert the attention from his baby sister to the important case. Upon the looks he received from the BAU team and his own chief, he quickly cleared his throat and amended his choice of words, "his original _woman_. The one who makes him grab all the other chi– women."

"We know next to nothing about her," Hotch explained, agreeing to move on from Leia. "The only thing we do know is that she has some kind of anxiety."

"That still gives us a pretty huge selection," Jared commented.

"We'll know more when we talk to the families tomorrow," Rossi assured them.

"We talked to the families earlier," Daniel said. "We could get you the files from the interviews if you want."

"We'll take a look at them, but we'd still prefer to conduct our own interviews," Hotch said.

The team continued to talk of the case and the crime scenes, bouncing ideas off each other, but not getting anything concrete. They knew for the day, they couldn't do much more. So they all broke up, deciding that it would be best to get an early night and then an early start to the next day. At the moment, the only way they could find their UnSub was to find their mystery woman and her connection with him.

As they entered the precinct, all their eyes were immediately drawn to the woman from earlier – Leia – who was now sitting with one of the other detectives, looking through files with him that she obviously shouldn't be. The Pascale brothers groaned and started moving quickly towards their sister.

"Leia!" the chief of police called out.

The young woman and the detective jumped and quickly moved apart from each other.

"Sorry, chief!" Leia called as she quickly ran to the reception.

"Chief Vick, with all due respect, this all seems to be getting a bit unprofessional," Hotch commented.

"Oh, I know," Chief Vick responded tiredly. "I've known her ever since she was a little girl, and let me tell you, this is nothing new. But, she does good. You saw her, she sees things a lot of us miss. If the detectives in this station ever get stuck, they'd go to her for a different perspective. And, Agent… she's usually right. I tell you, she'd have made one hell of a cop."

"Why didn't she?" Rossi asked.

"Hmm?"

"Skills like hers and an upbringing that she had, surrounded by cops, surely this would have been the most obvious path for her to go down."

"She can't."

"Why not?" Reid asked.

Chief Vick stared at the agents in front of him for a moment. They all looked at him, genuinely interested in this young girl that he knew for most of her life. She was a close family friend, and he did care for her like family, so when a group of agents investigating an entirely irrelevant case start snooping around her life as if she hadn't gone through enough, it angered him. He was quick to cover it up, though, keeping his professionalism intact.

"Agents, that is a very long, very _personal_ story," Chief Vick said at last.

The BAU team nodded their heads, respecting the privacy of their own people. Chief Vick organised for cars to be brought to the agents and left them at reception. The team talked amongst themselves about the case, figuring out what their plan for the interviews was. They decided that Hotch and Rossi would interview Amanda Rich's friends and family, Morgan and JJ would interview Kaitlin Smith's family, and Reid and Prentiss would interview Emilia Banks' friends.

As they were talking, they saw the Pascale siblings make their way towards the exit of the station. They saw little Leia turn to face the team, and they saw the smile spread across her face. She turned back to her brothers, saying something the BAU team couldn't hear, before starting to make her way towards the team. Daniel and Jared protested and quickly started to go after her. The BAU team stopped talking of the case, and awaited the conversation with the youngest Pascale. They knew it would be an interesting one.

"Hello again," Leia said happily. Her brothers finally caught up, but she kept talking. "I just wanted to apologise again. I didn't mean to intrude earlier today, or imply anything. I was honestly just looking for my brother and I overheard."

"Don't beat yourself too much about it," Hotch said, somehow still sounded very stern. "What you said today was actually pretty useful."

Leia's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? Well… thanks. I… that means a lot, coming from you guys. I mean, Daniel won't shut up about you guys and – "

"Leia…" Daniel warned.

"Right. Sorry. I just – "

"I would prefer, however, that you kept out of what should be a confidential case," Hotch cut in. "The way this department works is questionable, but it seems to do alright for now, so I won't say anything. But in this case, I don't want to be responsible for a civilian who normally should have no insight into police cases. It's nothing personal."

"Yeah. That's… that's fair," Leia's face dropped a bit, but she seemed to accept it. "It was great meeting all of you, though. I mean it, Daniel honestly doesn't stop talking about – "

"Okay, Leia, I think we should get you home now," Daniel cut in quickly. Leia laughed but allowed her brothers to pull her out of the precinct and out of sight.

The BAU team stared after the Pascale siblings for a moment before some smiles broke out.

"Well, she's certainly interesting," Prentiss said at last.

"And she takes a lot of pride in embarrassing her brothers," JJ noted.

"Believe me, that is not exclusive to Leia," Morgan insisted.

"So your sisters would embarrass you?" Prentiss asked.

"All the time."

"So if we were to visit them…"

"They would probably pull out the baby album."

"Well that settles it. We need to visit your family."

The rest of the wait was spent talking about nothing in particular. When the cars finally arrived, they filed in. Hotch and Rossi in one car, and the other four in the second. As they drove in the car, Prentiss kept pressing Morgan for details about his sisters and the many embarrassing moments he had to live through. In an effort to change the subject, Morgan glanced in his rear-view mirror and noticed Reid staring out his window. He hadn't said a word in a very long time.

"Hey, pretty boy," Morgan called out, cutting Prentiss off mid tease. Reid jumped but turned to look at Morgan. "You've been pretty quiet for a while. What's going on in that genius head of yours?"

"Oh, uh… nothing…" he said, but he could feel the slight blush rising into his cheeks.

"Somehow I don't believe you," Prentiss said, her attention fully diverted from Morgan. Reid glared at the man driving, now seeing his plan and hating him for it.

"You're thinking about that girl, aren't you?" JJ asked.

"No," Spencer denied immediately, but he could feel the blood rising to his cheeks and effectively discrediting what he said.

"Oh my God, you were!" JJ exclaimed. "Spence! Do you have a crush on the should-be-cop?"

"No, I don't."

"Reid, I don't blame you," Morgan said. "I mean, she wasn't too bad…"

"You're a pig," Prentiss muttered.

And so, the rest of the car ride and evening – much to Reid's annoyance – was spent discussing the ever interesting Leia Pascale, and Reid's 'obvious' crush on her.

Yep. Morgan was definitely going to pay for that one.


	4. Coffee

**Hello lovelys!**

**I am so sorry for how long it took to update, I've been so busy preparing for uni. This isn't a very long update, nor is it exactly what I wanted this chapter to have, but I just felt like you were all owed an update. I'll try to update again before the end of the week!**

**Thanks for all the follows, favourites, review! Please keep it up!**

* * *

><p>The BAU team made their way back to the San Diego Police Station at seven in the morning. They were all determined to get a lead by the end of the day. This particular case was extremely time sensitive, and they knew that soon their UnSub would make a move. Another woman would go missing soon, whether that woman is his original target or just another surrogate, they didn't know.<p>

They all sat down and talked through the interviews that they would conduct with the families of the victims. They knew there wasn't much point in asking if they knew who took them, judging by the previous interviews, no one had a clue. Their main focus was to profile the victims, figure out who they were before they died, and use that to identify both their mystery woman, and their UnSub.

When it was almost time for their first interview, Reid quickly went to the break room, in hopes of getting one last fix of coffee. He didn't know for sure when the next time he could get a cup would be. Reid pulled out a mug from the top cabinet and quickly poured the already made coffee into his cup, tearing open and pouring in five sachets of sugar before he dared even taste his coffee. After his first sip, he had to pull a grimace. That was truly one terrible pot of coffee.

Another person entered the break room. Reid only briefly glanced their way, noticing a woman with brunette hair working around the room like she grew up there, before he turned back to his coffee, adding yet another sachet of sugar. As he turned back around, the woman accidently bumped into the young genius, knocking the sachet out of his hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the woman said. Reid turned to see none other than Leia Pascale standing before him. "Hey!" she exclaimed when she noticed who he was. "You're one of the FBI guys!"

"Yeah, uh… Spencer Reid," the doctor introduced himself.

"Well, it's a pleasure, Spencer." She smiled and turned back to her pot of coffee. Reid stared at her for a moment, wondering why she was making a new pot when there was still a freshly – albeit, disgusting – pot of coffee already there.

"Can I ask you a question?" Reid asked. Leia turned back to him, smiled and nodded. "What are you doing here this early? Don't you have work?"

Leia laughed out loud before answering, "Of course I do. I usually just stop by the station and get a cup of coffee before getting a bus to work."

"You stop by the station before going to work?" Leia nodded. "Every day?" she nodded again. "Why?"

"My brothers," She answered sadly. She looked contemplatively at the counter before turning back at Reid. "When I was sixteen, my dad and I got into this huge, stupid fight. That day, he was shot in the field. It was touch and go for a while, and they said to expect the worst. By some miracle, he survived, and I got to apologise a million times. But I think about that every day. If he died that day, the last thing I would have told him was that I hated him. So now, I make sure they know how much they mean to me."

Leia paused and looked back at her pot of coffee. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just told you all that," she said embarrassed.

"You're worried about your brothers, which is understandable considering your history and the professions of your family. You've obviously been keeping all of this bottled up, which isn't good for you. Not only could that harm relationships, it could be damaging for you, psychologically and physically.

"Studies have found that people who don't regularly express themselves are more likely to act out aggressively. Other studies show that there is a significant link between emotional suppression and mortalitly; people who were found to regularly suppress everything were thirty five percent more likely to die younger. This could be either because they use things like smoking or, uh, junk food as an outlet, or because the stress of keeping everything bottle up caused diseases and heart complications to arise."

Reid finally took in Leia's expression as she stood across from him. She didn't seem annoyed, like Morgan or Emily usually did, but she did seem shocked.

"Sorry, I, uh… I tend to ramble," Reid finished.

"Don't worry about it," Leia said with a smile and she turned back to her now freshly made pot of coffee.

"Why have made an extra pot of coffee?" Reid finally asked.

"Because that pot is made by chief Vick."

"And?"

"And Chief Vick couldn't make a good pot of coffee if his life depended on it."

Reid laughed before staring at his own mug full of the terrible liquid that the station dared to pass off as coffee. Leia followed his line of sight and noticed his full mug. She smiled and grabbed the mug out of his hand.

"Hey – "

Reid's protest did nothing as she took his mug and poured the contents down the sink. The young genius stared in shock as his last source of caffeine went down the drain, not quite sure how to respond to her actions. Leia then grabbed her freshly made pot of coffee and poured it in Reid's cup before handing it back to him.

"There, try that," she said proudly.

"I, uh…" Reid hesitate before putting down his cup and grabbing the sugar again. He started ripping open each sachet of sugar and poured it into his coffee.

"Wow," Leia muttered, the smile clear in her voice. "Would you like some coffee with that sugar?"

Reid smiled at the joke, only too accustomed to the jokes regarding his sweet tooth, before taking a sip of his coffee. The young genius only nodded in approval before thirstily drinking the coffee, ignoring the scalding of the coffee as it hit his tongue and burnt its way down his throat.

"Told you it was good," Leia laughed.

"Hey, Pretty Boy," a new voice called out. Leia and Reid turned towards the entrance to see Derek Morgan and the rest of the team behind him. "I hate to break this up, but we're leaving now to interview the families."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Reid put his coffee cup in the sink and turned to Leia. "Thanks for the coffee," he said with a small smile.

"No problem. See ya, Spencer."

With that, Reid left the break room and followed his team towards the car. Hotch and Rossi exchanged a look, but said nothing about Reid or Leia. Morgan, Emily and JJ stared at their young genius, a big smile on both of their faces. Reid simply tried to stay as small and quiet as possible. He knew it would be a long time before his team let him forget about this. The whole situation was Lila Archer all over again, except this time, it really was just in their heads.


	5. Diagnosis

**Hello lovelys!**

**I am **_**so**_** sorry about how long it took to update. Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews in the meantime though! I will try my very best to update by next Wednesday!**

**Please review! They mean the world to me and motivate me to keep writing! **

* * *

><p>Emily and Reid made their way to the dormitory's of UC San Diego, where they knew Emilia's friends and family would be waiting for them. Emily sat in the driver's seat, driving just over the speed limit, but by far much safer than Morgan. Reid spent most of the ride just staring out of his window. He already knew what Emily wanted to ask him about, and he desperately trying to ignore the glances she threw his way, but eventually the moment would come where other agent would approach the topic.<p>

"So…" Emily started, her eyes for the most part glued to the road in front of her. "You and that Pascale girl, huh?"

Unfortunately for the young genius, that moment was sooner rather than later. Reid sighed quietly and looked towards his friend.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on," Emily said, a smile lying on her lips. "You and that girl from the station – "

"Leia?"

"See!" Reid closed his eyes and mentally cursed at himself for encouraging her. "So tell me what's up."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Oh _really?" _

"Yes, really. And I don't see where this whole fantasy developed from."

"She called you Spencer," Emily pointed out.

"That _is_ my name."

"Yeah, but _no one_ calls you Spencer!" Reid just stared at the agent. "Fine," Emily muttered, admitting defeat on this point. "But you let her grab your coffee right out of your hands and pour it down the sink."

"I don't think 'let' is the right choice of words. I didn't exactly have a say in the matter," Reid muttered. "And aside from that, I don't see how that supports your theory of anything going on between the two of us."

"Reid… it's _you. _And _coffee_. Do you remember when Morgan once grabbed your almost empty mug from your desk? I swear, you growled at him."

"Firstly, I did not growl. Secondly, that was Morgan, not a girl I just met. Thirdly, that was after two sleepless nights in the middle of a case. And _finally_, my mug was still at _least_ half full."

"Yeah, but Reid – "

"I think we should focus back on the case," the young agent cut her off quickly. "It's slightly more important than my love life – or lack thereof."

"Okay…"

The rest of the car ride was spent mostly in silence.

* * *

><p><span>University of California, San Diego, Dormitory<span>

The two agents made their way through the Dormitory of the university. After showing their badges to the security desk and explaining that Emilia Banks' friends and family were expecting them, the security guard showed them to the room. Emily and Reid followed the guard through the different buildings and up the stairs to the third floor. The guard motioned to one of the doors near the end of the corridor, and Emily said a quick thanks before the two agents approached it and gently knocked.

A young, tall, blonde woman opened the door. Just one look at her and both Emily and Reid could instantly tell that this woman had just finished crying.

"Anabelle Johnson?" Emily asked. The young woman nodded her head solemnly. "My name is Emily Pretiss, this is Doctor Spencer Reid. We're with the FBI and we wanted to ask you some questions about Emilia Banks."

"Yeah, we've been…" Anabelle's breath caught and she looked down for a moment, the grief still clear in her voice. "We've been expecting you," she finished quickly before moving out of the way to let the two agents in.

Emily and Reid nodded before gently going inside, quickly noticing two other young girls sitting at the table. One had a dressing robe tied tightly around her, and the other was in sweat pants and a tank top. Both of them looked as if they had only just finished crying. Reid offered an apologetic smile to the young women, but knew that that would mean little to them. Anabelle closed the door behind the two agents and joined her friends by the table. She wrapped her arms around herself as if that was the only thing that was keeping her together.

"This is Tanya and Sarah," Anabelle said quietly, gesturing at the other two. Neither of the young women offered a hand, or even a smile. Neither Emily nor Reid blamed them for that.

"Where's Emilia's family?" Emily asked quietly. "I thought they would be here too."

"They're packing up Emilia's room," Anabelle explained. She pointed down a corridor and explained, "Down there, second door on the right." Emily nodded. "I should warn you, though," Anabelle started again before either agent could go down there. "They don't speak a lot of English. Her brother can say a few words, but not much, while her mom pretty much only knows how to say 'hello'."

"I'll talk to them," Emily said, more to Reid than anyone else. The young genius nodded with her plan, knowing very well that Italian was one of the many languages that Emily was fluent in. Reid approached the table and sat across from the two girls sitting. Annabelle followed the young agent's lead and joined them at the table.

"My name is Spencer Reid," he introduced himself. "I know this is a hard time for all of you, but would you mind answering a couple questions for me?"

Tanya and Sarah exchanged a look with Annabelle before they all nodded their heads.

"So Emilia Banks was missing for a week. Who reported her missing?" Reid asked.

"Tanya did," Annabelle answered when it seemed like no one would respond. The young girl in the bathrobe looked up timidly.

"She missed two whole days of lectures and seminars," Tanya said in a small voice.

"And that was unusual for her?" Reid asked.

"Very," Tanya answered. "This university… it's her dream school. Her father went here before meeting her mom in Italy. He always talked about how amazing it was and how his entire family went to this university. He died a year before she applied for college, and this was her way of remembering her father. This university is her life. She wouldn't jeopardise it for anything. I mean, the library is practically her second home. If she's not in lectures, she's in the library studying, stopping only to get her fix of coffee."

"Did Emilia ever talk to any of you about someone following her? Or, maybe someone acting a bit weird around her?"

The girls took a moment to think, before Tanya responded, "No. Nothing like that."

"Is it possible that she wouldn't have told you if something like that were to happen?" Reid asked, for clarification.

"No way," Annabelle immediately responded. "We told each other everything. Family issues, rants, worries… we shared everything and we never judged. I mean, one time Emilia thought one of her professors were hitting on her, and she came to us immediately, worried that something horrible would come from it. It turned out to be nothing, but… she knew she could tell us anything. Even if it _was _nothing."

"What was this professor's name? What did he teach?"

Annabelle looked taken back, looking as if she had said more than she had intended. "It really was nothing. She said it herself, called it a cultural difference – "

"Annabelle, it could be nothing, and I'm sure it is, but I don't want to take that risk," Reid insisted.

The young woman was hesitant for a moment before she sighed and answered, "Dr. Eric Bishop. He teaches clinical genetics."

"Thank you," Reid said, committing that name to memory. "Now, was Emilia particularly trusting? Would she have gotten into a car of a stranger easily?"

"The opposite," Tanya answered. "She's one of the least trusting people I have met. The only reason she trusts us so much is because we lived with her for three years. She wouldn't trust a stranger with… well, _any_thing."

Reid nodded his head, taking in all the information, before looking at the final girl in the group who had yet to say a single word. The girl in sweat pants and a tank top – Sarah. She kept looking down at her hands, crossing and un-crossing her legs. She was constantly moving and fidgeting, her hands playing with the loose threads of her top or sweats. And Reid recognised her behaviour instantly. Guilt. It was clear as day. Sarah was feeling guilty.

"Sarah," Reid spoke up. The young girl in sweats looked up, making eye contact with the genius for the first time. "You've been quiet."

Sarah stared at Reid with sad eyes before glancing at her friends beside her. They gave her reassuring looks, but that didn't take away the sadness in her eyes. She turned back to the young agent again.

"It's all my fault," she croaked out at last.

"Sarah –" Tanya tried, but Reid held up a hand quickly.

"How is it your fault, Sarah?" Reid asked quietly.

She took a deep breath and started to explain.

"Last year, I notice Emilia was getting really stressed. And she had this horrible habit of scratching her chest when she was nervous or anxious and it was getting bad. It was getting _really_ bad. She would scratch until it _bled_. She would _scar_. And she was snapping at people and… I confronted her. I told her it was getting out of hand and urged her to go to the university's psychologist. They have good counsellors, and they offer great advice. I told her if she wouldn't go voluntarily, I would tell them about her and how she was essentially self harming." Sarah looked back down, her hair falling over her face as if to hide the fact that she was close to tears.

"If I hadn't made her go, she wouldn't have been diagnosed," Sarah continued after a moment, her voice hoarse. "She wouldn't have been taken and she wouldn't be – "

She cut herself off, finally letting the tears fall and the sobs come out. Tanya quickly reached and arm around her and Sarah was quick to wrap her own arms around her friend and cry on her shoulder.

"Sarah, I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to be completely honest with me, but first I want you to understand something," Reid said, his voice gentle but urgent. "It wouldn't matter if she was diagnosed or not. We believe that the man we're looking for targets people who display anxiety _traits_, not people who are _diagnosed_ with anxiety. So, official title or not, Emilia clearly displayed anxiety behaviours, which is what attracted the attention of our UnSub. Do you understand?"

Reid could only just see Sarah weakly nod her head.

"Good. Now I need you to answer this question. How did you know our UnSub targets people who have anxiety?" Reid asked. He knew that the neither the San Diego Police Department nor the BAU had given an official statement regarding anxiety.

"It's all over the news," Sarah muttered.

"The Anxiety Killer," Annabelle confirmed. "Disrespectful bastards…" she muttered.

Reid inwardly cursed, knowing that it was never good when information got leaked to the press when they weren't ready. This certainly wasn't good news.

"Agent," Sarah mumbled, starting to sit up and wipe some tears away. "If you don't mind me asking… how does the… UnSub… know what to look for? How does he know without diagnosis which girl has anxiety?"

Reid sighed. "We often say that serial killers are one of the best profilers."


End file.
